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It seems to me to need some re-working:


Can someone have Asperger's Syndrome if he or she does not have autism?

is it because they are using either autism or aspergers,but not seeing AS as 'autism'?
From what can make out,it looks ok,the writer/editor is using 'Autism' for classic autism,-it's very often used and understood that way only in very recent years that it's getting common for people to use 'Autism' to mean any form.

Sometimes,some aspies seem to denie any connection to Autism,because they only see us as the profound stereotypes and think it's something to run away from,but this writer/editor doesnt seem to be one of those,it's because they see having an ASD and 'autism' as seperate labels.

Good point Kingdom of Rats, one of the terms for AS is "Asperger's autism". While classic autism might appear to be different to AS, the two are related.

Also a possibility exists that aspergers might be absorbed into HFA, so that the two get the same name.

It's got a long and a short answer. There's no really any misrepresentation there.

I just submitted:

It depends on whom you ask. The two labels are differentiated in the official diagnosing manual (DSM IV) only by the presence or absence of an early language delay. And people diagnosed with Asperger’s do have language delays (pragmatic, higher lever linguistic organization, and figurative language delays) that become more obvious with age. The other “spectrum” diagnoses are quite different. IMHO, it seems an artificial boundary, and it makes more sense to label both forms “autism,” with the more severe form referred to as Kanner’s Autism and the less severe form as Asperger’s Autism.

People with either form of autism need support to function to their full potential, but those with asperger’s autism could be expected to live independently with employment. Those with kanner’s autism can be expected to need full-time support. ONE IMPORTANT NOTE: a label of kanner’s autism does not imply low intelligence. I have known very bright kanner’s. They just need very good communication support.

I've noticed this here because there are several people with Kanner's autism at this forum and they don't seem to be unintelligent.

In the light of what I have learned over the past two months or so, 'low-functioning' is not always a product of the type of autism you have (Kanner's, Asperger's, etc.) but of a whole bunch of other stuff. I 'functioned' pretty well in school, I have a job, etc., but this year I became so neurologically/emotionally messed up that I started functioning much lower and eventually got to the point where I was about to ask for a demotion (and then got medication before that was necessary).

Neurotypical people can also be 'low functioning' if they have problems like Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other stuff that impairs 'functioning'.

The LFA is just a severe communication barrier - once addressed, the LFA goes away. However, communication with people with this label is over looked because people assume that there is low intelligence.

My allegory for autism is a person is trapped in a brick tower (like Repunzel).
Aspies may have a few windows in the tower through which they can access NTW (and let down their golden hair). They spend a lifetime trying to put in more and bigger windows, often with much jeering and little help.

Auties have few to no windows. Shrinks are constantly taking the IQ* of the bricks and labeling the people inside as "MR." Effective early interventionists try to knock windows in the walls so that "experts" can see the unique individual and thus allow this unique individual to exert maximum control over his/her own life.

*IQ is technically a measure to predict school success, and it is pretty accurate when used this way. But too many people (and lots of them “experts”) extrapolate the results to reveal an individual’s actual intelligence. The problem with this use of IQ tests is that MR & MMR frequently become “throw-a-way” diagnoses. These kiddos are frequently segregated into classes where they are not educated. Neglect and abuse are not infrequent.